by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

History was made Monday morning when the first active male athlete in a major U.S. team sport announced that he is gay. He's Washington Wizards center Jason Collins. He stands 7 feet tall, weighs 255 pounds, has started almost 500 NBA games and is known as a durable, strong, physical, team-oriented big man.

So much for stereotypes. Whatever any of us pictured when we thought of or heard the words "gay man," we now have received a wonderful view of who that man actually is. Through Collins, we also have been given an enlightened and intelligent view about so many of our fellow citizens, neighbors, friends and role models.

If a tough, 7-foot NBA veteran can be gay, can't just about any athlete be gay? Oh, and anybody got a problem with that?

It's not just sports history that took place when Collins told Sports Illustrated his riveting, classy and courageous story. It's U.S. history. Just as Jackie Robinson played such an important role in American racial integration, and Billie Jean King in the advancement of women's rights, so too will Collins with the march to equal rights for gay Americans, and those around the world as well.

This news is that big of a deal. Coming from the macho, industrial-strength world of men's professional sports, it's nothing short of a watershed moment in the sweep of American history. If we listen to all the sports radio shock jocks and nameless, faceless screamers in the rafters and the old-time assistant coaches asking antiquated and illegal questions at the scouting combine, big, strapping NBA and NFL guys aren't supposed to be gay.

Women's sports? Sure. We can never discount the strength of Martina Navratilova, Sheryl Swoopes and Brittney Griner, among others, but their news didn't really shock us. Artistic men's sports? Of course. Greg Louganis and Rudy Galindo are heroes a hundred times over, but again, we were hardly surprised.

But big, bruising Jason Collins? Really?

That's exactly what makes this news so important.

"I take charges and I foul -- that's been my forte," Collins wrote in SI. "In fact, during the 2004-05 season my 322 personals led the NBA. I enter the court knowing I have six hard fouls to give. I set picks with my 7-foot, 255-pound body to get guys like Jason Kidd, John Wall and Paul Pierce open. I sacrifice myself for other players. I look out for teammates as I would my kid brother."

So it is that Collins is the perfect messenger for the cause of gay rights, inclusion and understanding in a nation that appears more ready than it has ever been to accept someone like him. Except for this: he is an NBA free agent, and he is 34 years old. It's certainly possible that his career is over, or close to it, and if that's the case, we know that there will be those who believe it's because of this announcement, not because of his physical abilities, and they will build whatever case they want to make accordingly.

So let us hope that there is an NBA team that wants him, not to make a social statement, but to sign a veteran big man with another season left in him. That is how the story of Collins' career should be written, with more games left to be played.

"I go against the gay stereotype," he said, "which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: That guy is gay? But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school. Am I so physical to prove that being gay doesn't make you soft? Who knows? That's something for a psychologist to unravel. My motivations, like my contributions, don't show up in box scores, and frankly I don't care about stats. Winning is what counts. I want to be evaluated as a team player."